Picklewagon

You won’t see a lot of political statements made on my blog. But this is one that I believe strongly in, so I have to do something about it.

As I am sitting down right now, I am listening to some podcasts through iTunes. I came across a Wired News podcast that had an interview with Pete Ashdown. Mr. Ashdown is running for senate against Orrin Hatch. As I was digging around the internet, I also found a Wired News article (it’s basically a transcript of the podcast I heard). Please read it to get more details. Here are a few excerpts:

Apparently, Utahans couldn’t care less about the Republican senator’s slavish endorsement of entertainment industry-backed bills that would, without understatement, create the equivalent of a copyright police state.

Hatch has terrorized techies from his Washington perch by sponsoring the much-loathed DMCA. He’s on record saying it’d be a good idea to let entertainment companies remotely destroy the computers of those they suspect of copyright infringement. And he’s a co-sponsor of the Induce Act, a moribund bill that aimed to hold tech companies responsible for creating devices that could be used to pirate digital content.

Makes you feel good, eh? Basically, Hatch is in bed with the entertainment industry. We need to protect our rights as consumers.

Ashdown is the president of XMission (my ISP). He is becoming well-known for fighting for the tech-savvy voters. Even if you aren’t technically savvy, you need to find out what this all means to you, especially if you live in Utah. For those outside of Utah, you can help others understand.

Personally, I can do a lot more to help the cause. My neighborhood and colleagues will soon hear about this. I know that I need to do more research as well. Here’s a good quote:

But I have been making an appeal to not only people in Utah, but people nationwide in regards to technology, that it is important that we have representation in Congress that understands technology beyond where the power button is on the computer, because these laws that are being made by a senator in Utah or a senator somewhere else affect everybody nationwide.

So all you Utahns need to do your homework and then vote for Pete Ashdown.